Display card for door keys



Det. 1940. Q TATE 2,224,027

DISPLAY CARD FOR DOOR KEYS Filed Nov. 3, 1958 Patented Dec. 3, 1940 DISPLAY CARD FORDOOR KEYS Christopher Tate, Malden, Mass., assignor toE. H. Tate Companmoston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 3, 1938, SerialNo. 238,498

4 Claims.

This invention 'relates `to display cards for small articles such as ordinary door keys which have comparatively large end portions connected by a comparatively small stem or shank portion.

It is an object of the invention to provide a card which is cut in such a way that objects like door keys can be mounted and held without looseness thereon, the securing means being portions of the card itself which are bent up out of `the plane of the card and encircle the stem of the key so that the key lies against one face of the card. According to the invention each securing element is made by a pair of cuts one of which defines aisemi-ciroular tab to be bent up out of the plane of the card, the other cut being arranged to form an aperture in the bentup tab which will fit the stern of a key and will be near the line of bend so as to hold the key against the face of the card. Each of the cuts is extended sufficiently to permit the bow or web'of the key to pass through the card. Thus, if two securing elements are formedby two pairs of cuts, the entering end of the key is pushed through lthe successive cuts to thread the stem through the apertures in the securing elements, the key ultimately lying against the top face of the card, and the bottom face of the card being substantiallyplane so` that the card can lie flat upon a table. The tab-forming and apertureforming cuts, with their extensions, may obviously be in a great variety of shapes. According to the invention'certain shapes, hereinafter described, are found to be particularly convenient and effective 'not only for holding the key properly in place on the card but also for facilitating the operation of mounting the key on the card.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description of certainembodiments thereof, and to the drawing of which Figure l is a perspective View of a card embodying the invention, on which a door key is mounted for display.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the card itself.

Figure 3 `is asection on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a card showing a modified form of the invention.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a card showing another modified form of the invention.

As indicated on the drawing, a suitable card I0 is provided, this card being cut in such a manner as to form securing elements by which one or more door keys can be held against a face of the card. Each group of cuts by which elements are formed for. securing .a single key against the card consists of two `pairs of cuts, each` pair forming a `strip or Yband of the material of theicard itself adapted to encircle the stem of ,5: the ykey so asto hold the key in position. In the card illustrated in Figure 2, a set of cuts I2, I4,

t5 and I8 are provided. These cuts are arranged in succession along the position which is to be occupied by the key. The intermediate cuts I4 '1.0 and I6 preferably define semicircular tabs 20 and 22 which are .bendable up out of the ,plane of the card along suitable lines of bend 24 and 26 respectiveiy. Thev cuts I4 and I6, in addition to the semicircular portions ithereof, are provided 15 with extensions 28 and 3U, respectively, making these cuts of sufficient extent to permit the bow or web of a house key to pass through the card from one side to the other thereof. As shown, the semicircular portions `of `the cuts I4 and I6 20 are convex toward each other, but, ifpreferred, they can bemade to point away from each other or in the same direction.

The out I2, which is adjacent to and paired with the cut I4, is approximately V shape, the 25 apex portion V32 being rounded to form a tongue about` the width of a door key stem projecting across the line of .bend 24 and into the semicircle dened by lthe cut I4, so that, when the tab 20 is bent up out of the plane of the card, the tongue at the apex of the cut I2 `may remain in the plane of the card, leaving an aperture in the tab 2U of a size to t the stem of a door key. The cut I2,`in addition to the rounded apex` portion 32, includes extensions 34 which curve away E36 from each other and are of sufficient extent to permit the bow or web of a key to pass through the' card. It is evident from Figure `2 that the semicircular portion of the cut I4 and the rounded apex portion 32 of the cut I2 cooperateV to 40 form a serni-annulus or arch-shaped strip of material of the card itself, this arch being bendable up out of the plane of the card to straddle the stem of a key in vthe manner indicated in Figure 1.

The cut I6 may be substantially identical in shape vwith the cut I4, as indicated in Figure 2. The cut I8, which cooperates with the out I6,'has a circular portion substantially concentric` with the semicircle I6, resulting in a circular aperture 4U which is of a size to t around the stem of a door key and is substantially tangent to the line of bend 2B. The cut I8 also has a T-shaped extension 42 extending from the aperture 4|] a suiicient distance to permit the bow or web of a door key to pass through the card. The

aperture 40 in the tab 22 results in the tab being substantially in the form of a semi-annulus which is bendable from the plane of the card on the line 26.

A door key can be mounted on a card made as indicated in Figure 2 by inserting either end of the key into either of the end cuts of a series and pushing the key through the other cuts in succession so that the leading end of the key passes back and forth from one side of the card to the other through one cut after another. For ease and convenience, keys are preferably mounted as indicated in Figure 1. This gure shows a house key having a stem 50 with a bow 52 at one end and a web 54 near the other end, there being the usual collar 56 between the web and the stem. In mounting a key of this kind upon a card as illustrated, the web end of the key is first pushed down through the card from the top face thereof,y the end of Athe key passing through the cut I2 on one side of the tab 2ID, and then up through the cut I4 on the' other side of the tab 26' which is bent up from the plane of the card in the process. The leading end of the key is then pushed along to the v cut I6 through which it is pushed down through the card and up again throughthe extension 42 of the cut I8. This results in the bending up of 30 the tab 22, the stem of the key then slipping into the aperture 40 Ywhich ts the stern approximately. The pair of cuts are spaced so that, when the key is in place on the card, the tab 22 encircles the stem of the key near the collar 35, 56, thus preventing retraction of the key toward the left. The bow 52 of the key catches'on rounded shoulders 66 formed by the curved extensions 34v of the cut I2. These shoulders prevent the bow from following the stem through the cut I2 40 and thus limit the longitudinal movement of the key toward the right. The T-shaped extension 42 of the cut I8 forms a pair of tabs. 62 which are pushed down under the web of the key after the web end of the key has come up through the 45 out extension 42. These tabs then underlie the web portie-n of the key so that this end of the key lies against the top face of the card as indicated in Figure 1. By the use of cards with cuts as illustrated in Figure 2, door keys may 50 quickly and easily be mounted thereon as shown.

Many varia-tions can be made in the shape of the cuts illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. For example, as shown in Figure 4, a semicircular cut 66 may be provided with an extension 68 disposed 55 lengthwise of the key instead of transversely thereto after the manner of the extensions 28 and 30. Cooperating with the out 66 a U-shaped cut 'I6 may be provided, this cut projecting into the semicircle of the tab formed by the cut 66 60 to provide a central aperture for the stem of the key when the tab is bent up from the plane of the card. The cut 'I0 vis somewhat similar to the cut I2 except that its extensions are substantially parallel instead of curving away from 65 each other as do the extensions 34. l

A variant of the cuts I6 and I8 is illustrated in Figure 5. As shown, a semicircular cut 'I2 with an extension 'I4 may be, employed, this cut being similar to the cut 66 shown in Figure 4. A circular aperture 'I6 may be formed with the semicircle formed by the cut 12, this aperture having a single extension 'I8 alined with the extension 'I4 and of sufficient extent to permit the web end 5 portion of the key to pass through, the straight extension 18 being used instead of the T-shaped extension 42.

Various other modications of shape can be employed for the purpose o-f holding door keys 10 and similar objects against the face of the display card. It is to be understood that the particular shapes and cuts herein shown and described are by way of illustration only and not of nmitation. 15

I claim:

l. A display card for a door key, having a pair of cuts each of sufdcient extent to permit the web of a key to pass through the card, one of said cuts having a portion defining a semi-circu- 20 lar tab bendable up out of the plane of the card, the other cut including a circular aperture through said tab approximately tangent to the line of bend, said aperture being of a size to fit the stem'of a key. 25

2. A display card for a door-key, having two pairs of cuts, each cut being of suflicient extent to permit the web of a door key to pass through the card, portions of each said pair of cuts being shaped to define an approximate semi-annulus 30 bendable up out of the plane of the card to fit around the stem of a key lying against one face of the card.

3.A display card for a door key, said card having a pair of spaced tabs bent up from the plane of the card on parallel lines of bend, said tabs having alined apertures adapted to fit the stem of a door key, said card having cuts extending respectively from said apertures and the openings left in the card by the tabs when bent up therefrom, said cuts being of su'icient extent to permit the web of adoor key to pass through the card on both sides of each tab, whereby a key may be mounted on said card to lie against one face thereof with the stem extending through said apertures.

4. A display card for a door key, having four cuts in a row, each cut being of suicient extent to permit the web of a door key to pass through the card, one of said outs having a V shape with a rounded apex forming aV tongue the tip of which is approximately as wide as the stem of a key, the sides of said cut curving away from each other, the second of said cuts having a semicircular portion extending around the apex of the first cut to form therewith a semi-circular tab, said second cut having end portions extending in opposite directions from the ends of the semicircularv portion, the third cut being similar in size and shape to the second cut, the semicircular portions of the second and third cuts being convex toward each other, the fourth cut having a portion forming an aperture through said card within the semicircle of the third cut adapted to fit around the stem of a key, said 65 fourth cut also having a T-shapedportion extending fro-m said aperture. l

' CHRISTOPHER TAT .Y 

